Over-the-road truck cabs having a sleeping compartment are well known. It is common to manufacture the truck cab and sleeping compartment as an integral unit. There is a market for over-the-road truck cabs which have worn out the useful life of the sleeping compartment. Such used truck cabs are often converted into a day or work cab by removing the sleeping compartment and covering the opening created in the back of the cab. However, such conversion of sleeper truck cabs into day cabs typically involves numerous components, such as multiple panels and braces which must be assembled to convert the sleeper cab to a day cab. The assembly of such multiple component conversions is time consuming, and the manufacture of the individual components is expensive.
Another known method for converting the sleeper cab into a day cab is cutting the panels of the sleeper down to size and riveting the modified panels back to the truck cab. Again, such cutting, sizing and re-assembly is expensive and time consuming.
Therefore, a primary objective of the present invention is the provision of a retrofit panel for converting a sleeper truck cab into a day cab.
Another objective of the present invention is a provision of a light weight panel which can be quickly and easily installed on a truck cab after a sleeping compartment has been removed from the cab.
A further objective of the present invention is the provision of a one-piece panel for converting a sleeper truck cab into a day cab which is economic to manufacture and durable in use.
A further objective of the present invention is a quick and easy method for converting an over-the-road sleeper truck cab into day cab.
These and other objectives will become apparent from the following description of the invention.